Backlash
by LaylaBinx
Summary: "I thought bullets didn't work on werewolves!" "It ain't the bullet you gotta worry about...its the silver." More Josh Whumpage than you can shake a stick at! No pairings but plenty of bromance! Major H/C and fluff! :D
1. Waiting For the Moon

**Hello all! So this idea has been tumbling around in my head for a couple months now and I just got to the point of writing it O.o More than that I just really needed some major Josh!whump after the season finale :D This can take place pretty much any time during the series but I kinda wanted it to happen after the season finale where Sally can sort of touch people. Also, Nora won't be in it =/ I really like Nora and I apologize to any fans who are disappointed in her lack of appearnce but I couldn't figure out how to make it work so she's conveniently out of town lol! Hope you guys like it!**

**I own nothing =/**

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It was getting dark, the sun sinking beneath the canopy of trees and dipping ever so slightly into the horizon. It was strikingly clear, the first twinkling of starlight appearing high overhead. A cold wind threaded its way through the trees, rustling the fallen leaves on the ground and filling the air with the scent of the coming winter. The lack of clouds in the sky nearly ensured a freeze later in the night and the animals had already begun to settle in for the evening, disappearing into dens and hollows to await the cold weather.

The man sat silently, his back pressed firmly against the base of a tree. He was motionless, so still it would be easy to mistake him for a part of the scenery save for the slight rustling of air around him as he breathed. There was gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans, a hunting knife strapped to his calf. He was waiting. Tonight would be the night, he could feel it.

His hiding place had positioned him right beside a well worn path to a nearby stream. If anything in this part of the woods was in search of water, it would have to pass by him to get there. It was the best place to be when the wolf decided to show up.

He'd been tracking it for nearly two months now, traveling across a state line just to stay on its trail. This one was older than the others he'd tracked, smarter too. It could run faster and blend in with its surroundings better, making it a worthy advesary. If he were to be honest with himself, the hunter was impressed by this one. All of the others had gone down with little more than a snarl and a flash of teeth; granted, most were juveniles but it didn't matter. In his opinion, it should have made them better since they were younger and stronger than the older ones but that theory quickly vanished after his third or fourth kill. The younger ones were clumsy and could easily be led into a trap. It had happened more times than he could count.

A large doe wandered past him, her dark eyes glancing past him into the trees. She barely even noticed him. He'd been working with a scientist for about four years now who had managed to develop a chemical that masked a human's scent from other animals. As the scientist had put it, it was like "camouflage cologne." The compound was going to sell for millions once it got through the testing phase but it wasn't available to the public just yet. The man didn't see why, the product had worked perfectly for him. He'd managed to sneak up on the other wolves without them ever smelling him. It worked wonders for this kind of job. He needed to be as discreet as possible when he was on a hunt, especially with the wolves. Their heightened senses made it difficult to hunt them in the normal way and one wrong move could mean being dinner or worse, becoming one of them.

He'd been paid well for this hunt, a large manilla envelope filled with the directed amount placed discreetly in his mailbox. This wolf had been responsible for the loss of livestock and wandering hikers and the price for its head on a platter was fairly steep. Still, the people wanted it gone and were willing pay a pretty penny to make sure that happened. He was well known for this kind of thing, the best in his field as he liked to think. Granted, the field was very small, only about thirty in the entire country, but he was the best. He'd even been called down to Mexico a couple months back to take care of a wolf that had been terrorizing the a local farming community. The wolf had ended up being a 15-year-old boy who never remembered his transformations but that didn't stop the hunter from taking him down with a bullet through the heart. In his opinion, a wolf was a wolf, it didn't matter how old they were or who they were when they were human. A gun sounds the same to every animal.

The sun had nearly disappeared by now, the last rays of sunlight flickering at the edge of the horizon. The temperature had already dropped a few more degrees and the hunter could see his breath coming out in small white puffs; he drew his jacket a bit tighter around him.

The wolf would be here soon and he needed to be ready.

**OOOOO**

"Are you sure you don't want a ride?" Aidan asked for the fifth time in an hour, following Josh as he rummaged around in his backpack for his Ipod.

Josh chuckled to himself and shook his head. "Aidan, seriously man, you're starting to sound like a soccer mom. If I didn't know any better I'd say you might've been one in a past life."

"All he needs to do is trade his car in for a van and we'd be all set." Sally chimed in, appearing on the couch next to Josh's backpack with a teasing grin on her face. A few months ago, her sudden appearance would have made the younger man jump but now he just smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want but its about 30 degrees outside." Aidan countered, gesturing toward the window with one hand. "Its supposed to freeze later tonight and I was just trying to prevent you from turning into a dog-sicle before you get out of the city limits."

Josh smiled again and shook his head, shoving a change of clothes into the backpack. "Your concern is touching, really, but I'll be fine. Remember, cold doesn't affect me as much as everyone else. One of the perks of being a werewolf is having an unusually high body temperature." Josh spoke easily enough but the word "perks" still came out like it was soaked in a battery acid. He'd gotten better with the whole self flagellation thing since his talk with Nora but it was a hard habit to break and would still managed to creep into his thoughts every once in a while.

Besides, with Nora out of town visiting her mother, Josh needed an outlet. He'd almost been looking forward to this month's transformation just for the fact that he could let out some pent up energy. He'd been cooped up in the house and the hospital every day for nearly two weeks and he was beginning to get a bit stir crazy. It would be nice to have some time to himself for a bit.

"Alright, well you can't blame me for trying." Aidan said with a shrug before he dropped onto the couch next to Sally. The spirit smiled and cast a knowing look to Josh. Though neither of them had said anything, both Josh and Sally knew that Aidan had been extra careful with them since Bishop's death. Between Danny trying to burn the house down with Sally inside and Bishop coming after Josh, it had been an interesting week to say the least and Aidan still hadn't completely grasped the fact that they'd all made it through alive (er, mostly). They'd spent the past month repairing the damage the fire and smoke had done to the house. Tonight would be the first night Josh had been out of his sight since Bishop's death and Aidan was quite literally hovering like a worried parent. Considering he was the only _living _occupant of the house made it harder as well.

The younger man gave him a reassuring smile and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll call you in the morning." He said, tossing a wave over his shoulder to Sally before swinging the backpack onto his back.

"High five Bigfoot for me!" Sally called after him as he disappeared out the door and down the stairs. She watched Aidan from the corner of her eyes for a second, the vampire's eyes glued to the door their housemate had just stepped out of. "Stare any harder and you'll catch the door on fire." She said, smirking when Aidan blinked and had the decency to look embarassed.

"You think he'll be alright? You know, with as cold as its been and all-"

"Aidan!" Sally cried, touching his arm for a split second before her hand phased through. She still hadn't gained complete control of that ability yet but it was getting better. "He'll be fine. Josh is a big boy, he can handle himself." She saw the vampire nod slightly before continuing. "Besides, there's a Gossip Girl marathon on tonight and you know how much Josh hates that show."

Aidan had to smile. Sally had managed to get him hooked on it one afternoon but no matter how hard she tried, she could not get Josh to follow suit. She had begged Aidan to watch it with her and, viewing it not so much as a favor but as a guilty pleasure, Aidan had agreed. "Yeah, you're right." He said finally, grabbing the remote and changing it to the right channel. "Josh will be fine." He tried to ignore the hollow feeling in his chest as he said the words out loud.

**OOOOO**

It took about twenty minutes for Josh to get outside the city limits and into the thick forests the surrounded it. He could feel the familiar pull in his gut of the on coming transformation but he still had some time left. He wandered deeper into the forest, his shoes crunching the nearly frozen leaves and twigs on the ground as he walked. He barely felt the cold that prickled against his skin. He needed to get farther away from the roads so he didn't run the risk of the wolf running out into traffic and attacking a motorist. He had a very limited amount of control of the wolf once he changed and the less chance of an accidental encounter the better.

He managed to make it a few miles away from the road before the first grip of the transformation struck him. He gasped suddenly, staggering to a stop and doubling over. It felt like someone had reached into his stomach and started rearranging his insides like they were refrigerator magnets. He dropped to his knees, an involuntary gasp escaping him as another blinding stab of pain shot through his body. He vaguely registered pulling off his shirt but was lost in the throws of agony as the transformation took hold of him completely. He cried out, his voice becoming hoarse and ragged as his vocal chords shifted and changed.

His fingernails peeled away, making way for sharp, curves claws and the bones in his wrists and arms contorted and reset. His back arched sharply, painfully, his ribs and spine lengthening to maintain the new shape. A thick layer of fur began to appear all over his body and the bones and muscles continued to contract and pull and reshape themselves. Josh let out one final agonized cry as he ceased to human anymore, the noise fading from a scream into a howl.

The wolf stepped away from the tattered remains of the human's clothing, smelling the stench of other humans on the fabric. It wrinkled its nose and shook its head, padding away from the pile of clothes and into the woods. It felt free, like it had been released from a cage and was allowed to roam to its heart's content. The full moon beckoned high over head, flickering like the muzzle flash of a gun at the starting gate, and the wolf needed to run.

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**Sorry if Aidan was a bit OOC but I figured he'd be pretty antsy after the throwdown with Bishop and all :D Hope you all liked it!**


	2. A Shot In The Dark

**Hello my darlings! Okay, so this chapter might be a bit confusing because there's two wolves and no dialogue O.o I hope it all makes sense though!**

**The Wolf- Josh**  
**It- The other wolf**

**Hopefully its not too confusing for you guys! :D**

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A distant howl made the hunter sit up a bit straighter; it wouldn't be long now. He reached into his pocket and retrieved two silver bullets. They gleamed in his palm under the moon light, slightly smaller than a normal bullet but no less deadly. He had made them himself, that was the only way to get it right. There were other hunters who tried to make silver bullets their way but without the right kind of silver, it was pointless. It had to be pure, no alloys or foreign compounds thrown in to make it stronger. Pure silver was the only thing that would kill a wolf.

He slipped the bullets into the chamber, the gun warm and familiar in his hand. He'd had this gun for years and it was the only one he trusted for this kind of job. This gun had seen its fair share of wolves in its time and had taken down every single one of them. The gun was as much a part of him as his own body and he knew it just as well.

There was a rustle off in the distance, a startled deer leaping through the under brush and disappearing into the trees. The hunter vaguely wondered if it was the same doe from earlier but didn't give it much thought. Something was coming and he was ready.

**OOOOO**

It sniffed the air deeply, taking in the scent of the forest and the animals living within it. These woods were familiar, it had been here before and its body automatically began retracing the old paths it had followed before. The trees stood out in stark contrast in its eyes; tall, looming, and inviting. The forest was its home and it felt more welcome here than anywhere else in the world.

It could hear the sounds of the forest, the nocturnal creatures that scurried away from its path and the hoot of owls high up in the trees. The air was cold and bitter but it felt free.

A sharp breeze brought a new scent to it and its teeth bared slightly. There was another wolf nearby, not close enough to cross paths with the other but it was definitely not alone in the woods tonight. There was a brief moment of contemplation: find the other wolf and assert dominance or ignore it?

It padded along, absently snapping at a rabbit before changing direction. Normally it would be up for a good challenge but not tonight. It had come to these woods after being pursued by a hunter and one less obstacle the better. The hunter was good, he had managed to stay just one step behind it this entire time and always managed to get away before it found him. It gave him credit for cunning, even if he was a human.

It was nearly certain the hunter was in this forest somewhere but it didn't give it too much thought. The hunter had followed it this far and had never managed to get a clean shot off. It was faster than the hunter gave it credit for and smarter. It could keep this up as long as it took.

**OOOOO**

Something padded by a tree stump a little ways in front of him and the hunter narrowed his eyes to see. In the mottled shadows of the night, he could just barely make out the shape of something large and four legged, nearly blending in with the darkness. It had dark fur and long legs but it was still young, possibly a new one. It was a wolf, smaller and younger than the one he was hunting, but a wolf nonetheless

The hunter could hardly believe his luck; not one but two wolves in this forest! What were the odds? This one definitely wasn't the one it was looking for but it could still fetch a pretty fair price for someone willing to pay for it. It was amazing the kind of markets there were out there that no one talked about.

The wolf turned its head toward him, eyes reflecting the moonlight briefly and giving it a demonic appearance. The wolf didn't see him, he was covered well enough, but he could see it perfectly. He hefted the gun in one hand, pulling it up slowly and taking aim. A wolf was a wolf.

The wolf turned just as the gun went off, the bullet grazing its leg. It let out a startled yelp and took off into the forest. The hunter cursed softly. The wound wasn't enough to cripple it but it would definitely slow it down. He got to his feet and took off in the direction the wolf had disappeared to, the gun still firmly grasped in his hand. Blood stained the leaves on the ground, black and glossy in the darkness, and it would be an easy trail to follow.

The hunter followed quietly, eyes shifting from the bloody trail to the path ahead. The wolf wouldn't get very far before the silver started to take affect. Once it got in the blood stream it was all over from there. Silver caused the wolf to become slower, weaker, as the the wolf's body fought against the metal. It also caused a counteraction in the transformation and enough of it could turn a wolf back into a human. That's what he was counting on; it was easier to kill a wolf's human form than it was to kill the actual wolf.

The trail disappeared down the edge of a valley and the hunter saw a blur of movement at the bottom. The wolf had stopped, lapping at the wound on its leg. Blood continued to ooze from the gaze, shiny streams of it covering the side of the wolf's leg. The injured limb was shaking from the effort of holding itself up. Another thing about silver is that it acts like a poison. A wolf's body reacts to silver the way a human's reacts to arsenic.

The wolf saw him on the edge of the hill, its ears flattening back and teeth bared. It turned to face him fully, a deep feral growl rumbling in its throat. The hunter wasn't fazed. He took aim at the wounded wolf and prepared to fire again.

**OOOOO**

A gunshot pierced the silence and it stopped short, ears perking up a bit in response. And there it was, the smell of blood. Its teeth bared slightly as it recognized the scent. The blood belonged to a wolf.

It turned, running back in the direction it had come. True, the other wolf represented a threat, a challenge for the claim of territory, but it was still a wolf. One of its kind. A cetain level of species loyalty was due. The other wolf was in the forest with it and the hunter had found it first.

The smell of blood got stronger, centering at the base of a valley. It was nearly overwhelmed by the smell as it got closer. Another gun shot, this one much closer, cracked the air and the it growled deeply. It appeared over the edge of the valley just in time to see a smaller wolf fall. It couldn't be sure if the wolf was dead or not.

A human was coming down the edge of the valley, gun in hand. It was the hunter, the one who had been chasing it for all this time. He was going down to claim his prize. It growled in disgust.

In a blur of darkness, it was down the hill and at the base of the valley, approaching the fallen wolf and the hunter from behind with predatory eyes. The hunter hadn't seen it yet, his eyes too focused on the the crumpled wolf on the ground. It was changing back, the body contorting and twisting painfully as it was forcefully rearranged from a wolf to a human body. Transformation is never an easy thing but forcing it makes it worse. There was an unearthly noise, a mix between a howl and a scream and the hunter watched with grim fascination.

It got closer, casting a side glance at the tortured body on the ground. The human looked vaguely familiar but then all humans looked the same to it. The human voice in the back of its mind was rambling about something but it wasn't paying attention, it was too focused on the hunter. It could smell the silver mixed in with the heavy coppery scent of blood. It was sickening.

The hunter sensed it before he saw it and turned, eyes widening ever so slightly. It could hear the hitch in his breathing, the acceleration of his heart rate as the adrenaline faded into panic. The hunter's hand went to his pocket, fumbling for more bullets, but it was faster. It leaped, catching him in the chest, and bit down. There was gurgled scream and a crack of bones breaking and it was silent.

It stepped away from the dead hunter and turned back to where the wolf had fallen. There wasn't a wolf anymore, nothing but a pale, shivering human. He was trembling though whether it was from shock or cold couldn't be determined. His eyes were glassy, unfocused, and a pained whimper escaped his throat.

It took a step closer, eyeing the human the way a cat eyes a mouse before it strikes. The human was pitiful, weak, and more than likely dying. There was a gash on one leg, long but not deep enough to cause much damage. Another wound, this one much more serious, marred his shoulder. The bullet had torn through the thick, muscled area of his shoulder, right beneath the collar bone. Blood slicked the whole side of his chest and his arm. His breathing was labored and strained.

It glared at the human, trying its best to ignore the rambling of its human consciousness. Usually it could shut the human side of its brain up completely during the full moon and the wolf took over entirely. But now the human side was being very vocal. It was annoying.

The human continued to gasp and moan in pain on the ground, his body and mind still not fully aware that he was back in human form and no longer a wolf. That silver bullet would cause a slow painful death if left in. It should kill the human out of pity and be done with it. It would be easy, all it had to do was bite down on the throat and crush his windpipe. He wouldn't even feel anything, it would be a mercy-

The human side of its brain was bitching incessantly now. It was getting harder to ignore and even more annoying than before. It didn't deny the recognition, the human side definitely remembered this human, but there was no sense keeping him alive to suffer. It relayed this to its human side in a series of growls and snarls and the bitching grew even worse. A full on tirade accompanied the suggestion.

The wounded human was beginning to lose consciousness now, his eyes beginning to flutter as the shock began to set in. There was no help for miles and it was close to freezing, there was no way the human would make it through the night. It relayed all this as logically as it could. Its human side would not shut up.

It gave the wolf equivalent of sigh and padded over to sit next to the now barely conscious human. It looked down at the wound again and growled. Beneath all the blood, it could make out a familiar set of scars. It had given him those scars.

It laid down beside the human, resting its head on the uninjured shoulder. The human was still breathing but it couldn't be sure how long that would last. The only thing it could do was wait out the night and try to keep the human alive long enough for his own human side to regain control and take care of the situation. Maybe then he would shut the hell up.

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**Okay, so I know it might seem a little strange that the wolf actually _cares_ what happens to Josh but I think they have a very small level of human awareness in this show when they're in wolf form. Not much, mind you; like 99.9% wolf and .1% human but I think it happens. Especially like in the season finale when Josh's wolf seemed to recognize Nora. So yeah, other wolf kinda recognizes Josh and decided not to eat him. Savvy?**


	3. Missing

**Eeeek! Sorry for the short chapter guys! There will be a lot more Josh whumpage in the next chapter! :D**

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Aidan was pacing. Had anyone asked him, he would have very calmly told them that he was just walking, not pacing, and that there was nothing to signifiy urgency in his steps. He _was_ pacing though; Sally could see it.

Aidan was really good a pacing too. He could look equal parts concerned and disinterested at the same time without coming across as a jerk. She guessed it came from working in a hospital for so long. Observing grieving, anxious families and seeing how they handled stress probably helped him handle his own. Aidan had been around the block once or twice when it came to the pacing thing though. He was a pacing pro. If they gave away awards for the art of pacing, Sally was pretty sure Aidan would get the gold because right now he was pacing like a champ.

"Aidan." Sally said, her voice sounding loud and unfamiliar in the silence of the room. The vampire slowed ever so slightly and looked at her. "I'm sure Josh is fine."

A brief silence greeted her before Aidan sighed, weary and drawn with worry. "He should have called by now. That, or he should have been home."

Sally didn't say anything for a moment. She had to admit, it was unsusual to not hear anything from Josh, he usually called first thing in the morning after to full moon for Aidan to come pick him up. Now it was almost 8:30 and neither of them had heard a thing since the night before. As much as Sally tried to convince herself that nothing was wrong, she couldn't come up with a reason why Josh wouldn't call. "Maybe he lost his phone, you know? I mean, when he changed he might have tossed it into a ditch or a hole or something? You said yourself the wolf is unpredictable." The reasoning sounded weak even to her but it was worth a shot.

Aidan shook his head slowly. "No, even if that were the case he would have found someway to call." Deep worry lines were forming across the vampire's forehead and his mouth was drawn into a tight slash. He always worried about Josh during the full moon, worried that the wolf might stumble out into a highway or something equally horrible when Josh had no control. Josh was his best friend, one of the only people he could relate to and who kept him sane anymore so of course he worried about him. But this was different, something felt wrong and had felt that way since the night before.

Sally fidgeted with the hem of her cardigan, twisting the fabric between her fingers. She was worried too but tried to keep the emotions from showing on her face. It was very uncharacteristic of Josh not to let them know he was alright. Had it been anyone else, she would have just chalked it up to being a flake and losing their phone but not now. This was Josh. Hell, his OCD alone would have prompted him to call because it had worked its way into his post-full-moon routine by now.

Aidan checked his watch again. 8:24. He and Josh had the 9-6 shift at the hospital today and it was going to be tough explaining that he showed up alone because he couldn't find his roommate. Another thing that worried Aidan was that Josh knew they had to work today and the younger man hardly ever missed a day of work. In the entire time they'd been friends, Aidan had seen him stay home from work on two occassions: one when he had the flu so bad he couldn't walk and the other when Danny had nearly burned their house down. He'd stayed home to start on the repairs and make sure Sally didn't go full poltergeist again when she was by herself.

He pulled out his cell phone and tried to call Josh again. The phone rang five times before going to voicemail and Aidan couldn't suppress the frustrated sigh that escaped him. He'd called Josh at least 15 times since 5:30 to no avail and it was getting to be more than he could take. With each call that went unanswered, his desperation grew and so did the anxiety.

"Aidan..." Sally tried again but her voice faded off. Whatever she'd been about to say died on her lips. He knew she was trying to keep him together, trying to make things seem less dire, but it wasn't helping. Josh was his family and now that he was missing, it was hard to think about anything else.

"I have to go." He said distractedly, grabbing the keys off the table and dropping them in his pocket. The thought of going to work while Josh was still missing was terrible but if he didn't show up to cover both of their shifts then there would be hell to pay. He didn't know why he cared, Aidan had enough money saved over his lifetime to never work again but maybe the job would keep him occupied long enough to come up with some kind of plan. Sitting in the house fretting about it certainly wasn't helping.

Without another word, he walked to the door and stepped out into the cold morning wind. If he'd been human, he probably would have started shivering at the sudden onslought of cold. However, he just shrugged his jacket on and walked down the stairs, disappearing around the corner and getting into his car. He saw a glimpse of Sally watching him from the window before turning onto the mainstreet and driving to work.

**OOOOO**

Whatever comfort Aidan had been hoping to find at work was quickly diminishing. It was slow, there were hardly any patients, and he was left with busy work for most of the day. He'd been silently praying that Josh had somehow made it to the hospital and would come rounding a corner, all wide-eyed and flustered, to explain why he hadn't come home and hadn't answered Aidan's calls. Sadly, that never happened either. Josh was nowhere to be found and none of the nurses had reported him on other floors which left Aidan alone with his thoughts once more.

He threw himself into his work the whole day, trying his best to take his mind off the countless scenarios that wold have left Josh unable to call or come home. It was maddening and made all the worse by the fact that he still hadn't heard from him. Aidan was pretty sure he'd been grinding his teeth for the past four hours.

His shift ended with still no word from the younger man and now he was to the point of near hysterics. He left the hospital, not stopping to talk to any of the other doctors or nurse who tried to talk to him as he passed. He didn't have time for pleasantries right now.

The drive home passed by in a blur and Aidan was pretty sure he ran at least one stop light. He pulled in beside their building, not bothering to lock the car as he stepped out and made his way toward the house.

He pushed the door open, causing Sally to jump a bit at the sudden noise. He looked at her, took in her stricken expression and cursed softly. "He never came home." It wasn't a question.

Sally shook her head slowly. "No." She said, her voice shaking just a tiny bit as she spoke. "I went all over town, anywhere I could think of, but I didn't see him. I tried to go to the woods but I didn't know where he would go and I just..." Her sentence faded off and the windows trembled a bit behind Aidan. She'd been keeping it together through most of the day but she'd also been hoping Aidan would find their lost wolf at the hospital and when he came home literally empty handed it was starting to get harder to control. The windows were vibrating just a bit and the hum of the lightbulbs in the kitchen got a bit louder.

"I'm going to look for him." Aidan turned around back toward the door, fishing the keys out of his pocket.

"I'm coming with you." Sally said, following him and causing the windows to stop shaking. No sooner had Aidan turned the door knob, a muffled knock sounded on the other side of the door. The two exchanged startled looks before Aidan jerked the door open.

Sally gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth, the entire house shaking around them now.

Standing in the doorway holding a very limp, unconscious Josh, was Ray the werewolf. His eyes locked with Aidan's for a second, an expression of pure distain crossing his face. "You gonna let me in leech? Or do you wanna let the pup bleed out on your front porch?"

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**Whoo? I'm sorry for those of you who hate Ray! I just couldn't think of anyone else that would have found Josh traipzing around out in the woods O.o Hope you guys still like it! :D**


	4. Bite the Bullet

**Okay, first of all let me apologize in advance for the terrible cliff-hanger =/ I couldn't figure out where to end this chapter and start the next one so the place I ended it seemed like the best one O.o I'm sorry! Second, thank you guys so much for all the support! It really means a lot to me! Hope you guys like it! :D**

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No sooner had Ray half-dragged, mostly carried Josh to the couch and laid him down, Aidan had him slammed up against the wall, his forearm barred across his throat and preventing him from moving.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your head off right now and use it as a soccer ball." Aidan snarled viciously, his eyes narrowed to thin, onyx slits as he glared at the werewolf.

Ray struggled against him, his own eyes narrowing. "Get off me leech!"

"What the hell did you do to him?" Aidan growled, shoving the older wolf a bit more forcefully into the wall, the plaster creaking behind him.

"You think I did that?"

"That's exactly what I think!"

Ray's eyes narrowed even more, his lips pulling back in a sneer. "You better get your arm off me boy, before I tear it off and beat you with it!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Stop it!" Sally cried, appearing in between them and shoving them apart with a small burst of energy. "Both of you! Stop!" Aidan stumbled back, releasing his grip on Ray but never dropping his gaze. The older wolf was glaring too, his shoulders rigid and hunched like he was preparing to attack.

Sally looked between them, an incredilous expression painted across her face. "What's the matter with you two? Josh is over there on the couch bleeding and hurt and you two are trying to see who can dismember the other faster!"

A tense silence fell between the two, both glaring at the other and waiting for the inevitable attack. Ray was breathing hard, his eyes wild and feral, and Aidan was about two seconds away from losing his shit completely and making a wolf-skinned rug for their living room.

"Aidan!" Sally's voice broke through the red haze he'd found himself in and he looked over at her. She was shaking, tears streaming down her face, the lights flickering on and off above them. "Aidan, please! Josh needs help."

This seemed to break through the rest and he blinked, glancing back at Ray one last time before turning back to the couch and walking over to his injured friend. "What happened?" He asked, kneeling down next to Josh, the biting edge still lingering in his voice.

"He's been shot." The other man answered, his shoulders relaxing just a bit as he stepped away from the wall, coming closer to the couch to look down at the younger wolf.

"I can see that." Aidan snapped, taking in the bloody wound in Josh's shoulder and scowling. Josh was still shirtless but Ray had managed to find a pair of loose sweatpants to cover the rest of him with. There was a stripe of blood on one leg of the pants, turning the grey fabric nearly black with its intensity. "Who did this?"

Ray shrugged, appearing next to the couch and kneeling down near Josh's legs. "I don't know, a hunter probably. I woke up this morning and found 'im like this."

Aidan said nothing for a second, looking between the wound in his shoulder and the wound in his leg. He closed his eyes for a second, concentrating on Josh. His skin was pale, almost waxy in appearance, making the gaping bullet wound look all the more garish. He could hear the younger man's breathing, fast and shallow, and it sounded like he wasn't to get enough air into his lungs. His heartbeat was uneven, the rhythm weak and thready as it struggled to keep the blood flowing through the injured body. Josh was going into shock.

"He's lost too much blood...this wound should have started to close by now." Aidan muttered, his concern deepening. Josh had been out in the freezing cold all night with a wound like this...it was amazing he was still alive at all.

"It's a silver bullet." Ray said, a note of disgust in his voice. "Those healin' rules don't apply to silver."

Aidan's eyes narrowed again at the wound as Sally stepped forward toward the couch. "Wait, I thought bullets didn't work on werewolves! Josh even told us they don't work!"

The older wolf shook his head. "Regular bullets don't work. Those things bounce off like they're made of plastic. Silver bullets though..." He faded off, looking between her and the unconscious young man on the couch. "Those'll do some damage. Even then it ain't the bullet you gotta worry about...its the silver."

"So what does silver do to werewolves? What makes it so dangerous?" Sally asked, absently chewing on her thumb nail as she looked down at Josh.

"Silver causes a reaction in a werewolf's blood. It makes the body attack itself, makes everything go haywire. Silver acts like a poison, it only takes a little bit. A scratch can be enough to bring down a full grown man..." The look on Ray's face was grim and he shook his head slowly, his eyes still fixed on the younger man. "The more silver you got, the faster it is."

Sally shook her head, tears welling in her eyes again. "The faster what is?"

Ray didn't answer, he just looked up at her, his eyes dark and troubled, and that was the only thing she neeeded. "No." She shook her head again. "No, no no. Josh is not going to die! He's not!" She looked down at Aidan, the vampire's eyes fixed on Josh's face, and tried to reach out and grab his shoulder but her hand passed through. "Aidan, we need to get Josh to the hospital." When he didn't move, she spoke louder. "Come on! Now!"

"Won't do any good." Ray muttered, shaking his head and looking up at her. "Takin' a werewolf to a hospital full of human doctors would be like takin' a goat to pediatrician. It ain't gonna help."

"Well they can do something! They have drugs and bandages and those little heart monitor things they hook you up to and-"

"Sally, he's right." Aidan said softly, his eyes never moving from the couch.

The spirit stopped, blinking at her fangy roommate. "What-?  
"I hate to admit it, but Ray's right. We can't take Josh to the hospital."

"What? Are you crazy? He could die Aidan!"

"I know." Aidan's voice cut her off, the level of desperation and pain in those two words making her stop. "I know but...gunshot wounds always require a police investigation and Bishop was the chief of police...there's no doubt in my mind that over half the city was under his control. If we take Josh to the hospital, all of them will know. Then he _will_ die."

Sally shook her head in disbelief. "But we can't just leave him here! We have to do something!" The floor was shaking now, vibrating the kitchen table and the couch. Josh made a faint whimpering sound in the back of his throat.

"Sally, listen to me." Aidan said, trying to keep his voice as calm and even as he could. It was his hospital voice, the one he used for anxious families and the one he'd been working on for years. "I'm going to take care of him, okay? I've worked in a hospital far longer than I care to remember and I've handled my fair share of gunshot wounds. I can handle this."

Sally was still shaking, the vibrations in the floor lessening ever so slightly. "But what if you...what if he..." She couldn't get the words out before more tears spilled down her face.

"Sally," Aidan said again, reaching out and touching her hand for a split second before it fazed through. "He won't, okay? Because I won't let him."

She didn't look convinced but nodded shakily, looking down at Josh and then back at him. "Okay."

Aidan nodded and looked back down at the wound. The entrance wound was a bit bigger than a quarter, the skin torn and the underlying muscle punctured. The area surrounding the wound was bruised, mottles of blues and blacks encircling the hole. Josh's breathing was shallow and uneven but it didn't sound like the bullet had pierced his lung so Aidan guessed he should be thankful for that. It was a small comfort. "The bullet is still in there." He muttered, more to himself than anything.

Removing bullets was always tricky because there was no way of knowing if it had torn an artery or a blood vessel. He ran the risk of Josh bleeding to death on the couch in front of all of them if he removed it...but if he left it in, the wound wouldn't heal and the silver would continue to poison his best friend. It was a risk he needed to take. "Ray, I'm going to need your help with this." He said grimly, wishing there was any other option. Unfortunately, their options were pretty slim.

The older wolf nodded and moved a bit closer. It was no secret that he hated Aidan and all the vampires he ran across but if it meant saving the pup then he was willing to do it.

"I need you to hold him down while I get the bullet out of his shoulder." Aidan continued, his gaze level with Ray's. "If he starts thrashing, he'll make the wound worse and we'll have more problems to deal with."

The other man nodded and placed his hands on Josh's arms, holding him down gently. The younger wolf made another whimpering noise in the back of his throat, somewhere between a whine and a keen. He shifted ever so slightly but remained unconscious.

Aidan stepped away from the couch and disappeared into the kitchen, rummaging around in their medicine cabinet. For both working at a hospital, their medical supplies at home were woefully insufficient. It made sense in an ironic, cosmic sort of way. Aidan never got injured enough to need bandaging, Sally was dead, and all of Josh's wound healed by themselves so keeping a fully stocked medicine cabinet seemed ridiculous most of the time. This was one of those times where it didn't seem so ridiculous. Aidan managed to find a roll of bandages, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and a pair of tweezers that had been tucked in the back of the cabinet. He knew he needed to get more supplies to deal with this but it could wait. This would have to work for now.

He grabbed a washcloth and walked back into the living room, kneeling down next to the couch once more. The doused the washcloth with the alcohol and dropped the tweezers into the bottle to sterilize them. Josh's chest and shoulder was covered in a fine layer of dirt and dried blood so he carefully wiped it away with the cloth in order to see the wound a bit better. The wound was oozing, the blood thick and dark as it continued to well around the edges of the hole. He could feel Ray's eyes on him, watching his every move, but he ignored it.

He pulled the tweezers from the bottle, drying them briefly with the cloth, before clutching them firmly in his hand and steadying himself for what he was about to do. Aidan had worked in a hospital for a long time but it was different when the patient was your best friend...all the cool, carefully crafted composure he's built up over the years was beginning to crumbled at seeing the younger man like this. He swallowed and sat up on his knees, looking up at Ray. "Ready?"

The older wolf nodded and kept a firm grip on Josh's arms. Sally made a distressed noise when Aidan moved the tweezers into the wound, his hand moving carefully and cautiously as it prodded the injury. Josh stiffened slightly, a weak grimace crossing his face. Aidan shushed him gently, absently, and kept on with his inspection. The edge of the tweezers grazed across something hard, a very small metallic "clink" sound as they connected. He rotated his hand carefully, finding the edges of the bullet and opening the tweezers a bit more so he could get a good grip.

The bullet resisted, the tweezers slipping a bit in response. Josh gasped weakly, his eyebrows drawing together in pain. Aidan had been hoping he would stay unconscious through this but it looked like that wasn't going to be the case. "I'm sorry Josh," He muttered, getting a good grip in the bullet once more. "But this is going to hurt like hell..." He pulled, quickly and forcefully, and the bullet popped out with a slight squelching noise. That's when Josh came awake.

He cried out in agony as the bullet was removed, his body arching and writhing spasmodically. Ray struggled to hold him down, the grip on his arms tight and firm, but it was still a challenge. Josh cried out again, loud and anguished, his eyes squeezed shut against the waves of white hot pain the coursed through him.

"Hold him down!" Aidan snapped as one of Josh's arms came lose and nearly caught him in the face. Ray grabbed it and pinned it back to the couch. A fresh wave of blood had begun to gush from the wound, the flow hot and bright as compared to the darker dried blood that had been there earlier. Aidan grabbed the bandages, pressing them into the wound firmly and applying as much pressure as he could. Josh bucked beneath him, his face twisted in a mask of pain.

"Shhh...shhh, you're alright, its okay Josh...you're alright." He murmured soothingly, trying his best to calm the younger man down. The blood was soaking through the bandages, wet and warm beneath his hands, and his fangs poked against the insides of his lip. He shook his head, forcing himself to concentrate on everything but the smell of his best friend's blood.

Josh opened his eyes then, blinking, his gaze glassy and unfocused. He looked around the room, trying to register where he was, what had happened. His eyes landed on Aidan and it took a him a second to remember how to speak. "Ai...Aidan..." He gasped, his voice rough and gravelly from the outburst a few seconds earlier. "What..."

"Shhh, its okay...everything's okay..." Aidan said, reaching up with his free hand to run his fingers through the younger man's hair. He hoped the touch would bring some small amount of comfort in the world of pain Josh was stuck in.

Josh blinked at him for a second, his expression a mixture of confusion and distress. Another tremor of pair shot through him and he gasped, breath coming out fast and raspy. He blinked a few more times before his eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp.

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**Aggghhh! I'm sorry! I'll update again as soon as I can, I promise!**


	5. Playing Doctor

**Hello all! Sorry it took me so long to update, had to go out of town for the holiday! Okay, for anyone who's read my stories in the past you know my issue with hospitals. Its an easy out in my opinion so I never use them :p Instead, I make the characters work for it ^.- I'm not a doctor by a long shot so if anything is amiss with the story please feel free to (politely) let me know! :D Hope you guys like it!**

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"Josh?" Aidan said, his gaze snapping down the younger man. Josh was still, limp, unresponsive. "Josh!"

Above him, Ray's eyes widened a bit as he followed Aidan's gaze. He released the younger man's arms and dropped to his knees beside him, pressing an ear to his chest. Following his example, Aidan kept one hand over the still bleeding wound and moved his free hand to press against the side of Josh's throat. If he'd been breathing at all, he would have held his breath in anticipation. He could feel a weak, shuddering pulse beneath his fingertips, Josh's skin cool and covered in a thin sheet of sweat. Whether it was from the shock or pain he couldn't be sure.

"Aidan..." Sally asked from beside the couch, her voice trembling. Tears were streaming down her face again, the sink in the kitchen leaking at a steady pace as if it was trying to correspond with her tears.

Aidan sat back after a second, nodding up to her. "He's alive...he just passed out."

Sally visibly relaxed, the leaking sink tapering off to nothing more than a trickle.

Ray sat back on his knees, scowling at the vampire. "Smooth move leech." He growled, eyes narrowed.

"I got the bullet out, didn't I?" Aidan snapped back, glaring at him as well. The blood was still seeping through the bandage, making his palm and fingers feel tacky as it dried. He still needed to look at the wound on Josh's leg as well..."Trade places with me." He said, moving down the couch toward Josh's legs. Ray did as he was told without comment (much to Aidan's surprise) and moved to press his hands over the wound in the younger man's shoulder.

The blood stain on the leg of the pants hadn't gotten any bigger but it wasn't dry either meaning the wound was still bleeding. The stain was high up in the thigh but centered mostly on the side of the leg so there wasn't much of a chance of it piercing any main blood vessels of veins. Aidan tried to roll the pants leg up far enough to see the wound but felt the fabric stop just below Josh's knee. Aidan sighed, weighing his options for a second. He needed to see the wound, examine the extent of the damage. The pants were going to have to come off.

He looked back at Josh's face, the younger man's head fallen to the side and his eyes closed and shadowed. Had he been conscious enough to protest, it probably would have ended with a lot of whining, a pout, and possibly the threat of embarassed tears at the idea of him being naked in front of this many people. Aidan didn't care though, it needed to be done. "Sorry Josh." He muttered even though he knew he couldn't hear him, pulling the pants off and dropping them to the floor next to the couch.

Ray turned his face away and Sally turned around in an attempt to give Josh at least a little bit of privacy. Aidan barely paid any attention, he'd worked in a hospital long enough to not be bothered by nudity anymore. Still, this was his best friend laying here naked and vulnerable. It made him look small, younger than he was, and it broke Aidan's heart to see him this way. He dragged the tattered fleece throw off the back of the couch and laid it across Josh's lap to give him some semblance of modesty.

The wound on his leg wasn't as bad as Aidan had expected. It was long, close to seven inches, and had been deep enough to bleed freely. It would definitely need stitches though, that part was unavoidable. Still, it wasn't nearly as serious as the shoulder wound which Aidan was thankful for.

He looked between the leg wound and the shoulder, quickly realizing they didn't have enough supplies to deal with both. The needed more bandages, a suture kit, and, judging by the amount of blood Josh had lost, probably an IV. That couldn't be found at a drug store. He sighed again; he was going to have to leave.

"I'm going to have to go up to the hospital to get some supplies." He said, the decision tearing at him. He didn't want to leave Josh but if they wanted to deal with this on their own then the trip was necessary.

"You're just going to leave?" Ray asked incredilously, glaring at him. "What if he gets worse?"

"If I don't leave, he _will_ get worse and then it will be too late." Aidan snapped angrily. He shook his head, knowing that Sally was still watching. "Look, he needs stitches and I have to do something about the blood loss. If I don't, he's not going to make it through the night." The words felt heavy and weighted as he spoke but he knew it was true. The fact that Josh had survived this long was a minor miracle and he wasn't willing to press their luck.

He stood slowly, tucking the throw around Josh a bit more before grabbing another blanket from a nearby chair and covering him with that as well. "I won't be gone long, 15-20 minutes tops. I know where to get everything and no one will stop me." There was an edge of defiance in his voice, almost an unconscious dare for someone to step in his way. "Just keep him warm and still until I get back. Make sure to keep pressure on the wound in his shoulder."

Ray said nothing but nodded grudgingly. Sally stepped forward a bit, her hands wringing knots in her sweater. "Aidan-"

"Sally," He said, cutting her off gently. "I'll be right back, I promise."

The spirit nodded shakily, stepping back behind the couch and casting a glance between Josh and Aidan. "Just hurry, okay?"

The vampire nodded before he grabbed his keys and disappeared out the front door.

**OOOOO**

It took less than five minutes for Aidan to get across town and pull into the parking lot of the hospital. He found a backpack in the backseat and ran inside, once again ignoring the startled nurses and doctors who tried to stop him in the hall.

He slipped into one of the supply closets and began dumping bandages and anything else he could find that would be useful into the bag. It wasn't stealing if he planned on replacing it later; he didn't have time to deal with the morality of the situation at the moment. He zipped the bag and slung it over one shoulder, leaving the closet and making his way down to the ground floor where they kept the cold storage for blood.

The night nurse barely looked up as he passed by. They were used to Aidan making trips to the cold storage room and most of them hardly even noticed him anymore. Part of that was Aidan's doing but the other part was no one expected anyone to come in and steal blood. Medical supplies maybe but blood didn't really go missing very often. Aidan made sure to take only what he needed to avoid suspicion falling on him; it had worked this far.

He grabbed two bags and tucked them into one of the pockets of the back pack. He never had to ask Josh's blood type; the nice thing about being a vampire was being able to figure that out with ever breaking the skin. Each blood type smelled different and he'd known Josh's from the moment he met him.

After going through the bag one more time to make sure he had everything they needed, he re-zipped it and pulled it over his shoulder. He waved absently at the night nurse sitting behind the desk and walked back outside. He dropped the bag into the passenger seat and slid in behind the wheel, pulling out of the parking lot and speeding back toward the apartment.

**OOOOO**

Josh was still unconscious when Aidan got back but he hadn't really been expecting that to change. He was pale, skin stretched tight and transluscent across his features. His heartbeat and breathing were still a bit too uneven for Aidan's liking but he seemed at least somewhat stable from the last time he'd checked.

He took out one of the blood bags, connecting the IV line to it with practiced precision and inserted the needle into the crook of Josh's arm. He stood, hooking the bag to edge of the lamp and taping the needle in place. He knew Ray and Sally were watching him but he didn't pay attention, he'd gone into full hospital mode and the outside world faded away.

He pulled out the suture kit from the back pack, opening it and setting it on the edge of the couch. The bleeding had slowed a bit from the shoulder wound but it was still oozing and made it difficult to stitch closed. A few times Aidan's fingers slipped from the amount of blood covering them but he managed to keep a tight grip on the needle. He watched Josh's face from the corner of his eye, torn between hoping for some sign of awareness and wishing the younger man would stay unconscious. Josh never so much as twitched, his expression pained yet unresponsive in the depths of unconsciousness.

One the shoulder wound was closed, Aidan cleaned the stiches carefully and covered it with a fresh layer of gauze. With Ray's help, he managed to lift him just enough to wrap the bandages around his back and across his chest, applying enough pressure with each wrap to keep the wound from bleeding anymore.

The leg wound wasn't nearly as difficult. It took more stitches but had pretty much stopped bleeding by the time Aidan got to it. He cleaned the would carefully, wiping away the dried blood and disinfecting it as much as he could. It took twenty-eight stitches all together but the wound closed well enough and without difficulty. Keeping one hand on the layer of gauze he'd covered it with, Aidan wrapped Josh's leg the same way he had the shoulder, applying pressure but leaving the bandages loose enough to allow for circulation.

He sat back on his knees, taking a careful look at both wrappings. They would have to be changed later but for now they would hold. He checked the IV once more before re-covering Josh with the blankets. A tiny bit of color had started to return to the younger man's skin but he wasn't out of the woods yet. It was going to be a long night.

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**More to come soon! Hope you enjoyed it! :D**


	6. Heart to Heart

**Hello my lovelies! Once again, there's going to be a sucky cliffhanger but I plan to update within a day or two to remedy that! Don't worry! ^.- Also, Ray may be a little OOC towarrd the end but I wanted to give him some depth, you know? I'm sure he loves being a wolf but I think he knows that Josh doesn't so that's where his little speech comes from! Hope you guys still like it! :D**

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Nearly an hour passed before anyone said anything. It had been so quiet and still, Aidan so focused on Josh that he'd almost forgotten the other two were there. He almost jumped when Sally spoke. "Do you think he'd going to be okay?" She asked hesitantly, hovering worriedly behind the back of the couch.

He glanced up at her and looked back down at Josh. He was still alarmingly pale but little bit of color had returned to his skin and he didn't look nearly as dire as he had when he'd arrived. His breathing had evened out a bit as well which Aidan was glad for but he knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. Lying just beneath the surface, a fever was begining to rise. He couldn't be sure if it was an effect of the silver or an infection Josh had contracted from being out in the woods for so long with a bullet wound. Aidan didn't have the heart to tell Sally this yet.

"He's doing a lot better than he was." He answered, which was mostly true so he didn't feel nearly as bad about it. Ray shot him a look that said he knew he was lying but said nothing. He was sure the older wolf could smell the sickness on Josh but knew he was probably approaching the situation the same way Aidan was.

He sat up on his knees, peeling back the bandage covering the shoulder wound and inspecting it. The stitches were still angry and red (he hadn't really expected that to change) but the edge of the wound were swollen and puffy. Silvery, spiderweb-like marks spread from the sides of the wound, creeping outward like tiny snakes. That was definitely from the silver. Aidan bit his lip sharply and reached out, brushing his fingers over the edges of the wound carefully. He could feel the sting of the fever burning around the outside of the wound, spreading outward toward the rest of his body.

Sally must have noticed his expression because she was suddenly beside him, gazing down at the wound. "What is that?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Aidan shook his head, knowing full well he couldn't lie to her about now. "Its from the silver, its poisoning his blood."

"What?" She snapped, shooting a quick glance between the two of them before looking back down at Josh. "Can't you fix it? I mean, isn't there som kind of drug you could give him that would make it better?"

Aidan tried to think. He knew that a good dose of penicillin would take care of almost any kind of blood poisoning but he didn't know how well it would work on silver. Still, it couldn't hurt to try and they didn't really have any other options. He reached into the back pack, finding a small glass bottle of penicillin and a clean syringe. He drew out a measured amount and located a vein in Josh's arm, injecting the drug into his bloodstream. "That should help with some of it." He said helplessly though there was very little conviction in his voice.

He looked up at the blood bag hanging from the lamp. It was nearly empty, only a small amount remaining in the bottom of the bag. He was going to have to change it out soon; hopefully it took care of the blood loss well enough to not hinder Josh's progress.

Aidan looked away, noticing for the first time that bloody bandages and rags were all over the floor around them. He'd been so preoccipied he hadn't even realized it. Now he could smell the blood, the rubbing alcohol they'd used to clean the wounds, and it was making him uncomfortable. He liked to think Josh's blood wouldn't affect him, that because he was his best friend he wouldn't be drawn to it like everyone elses. It didn't work that way though, blood was blood and he was a vampire. He shook his head, standing suddenly and grabbing a handful of the bloody rags.

Sally and Ray watched him silently as he gathered up all the rags and bandages from the floor, tucking them under one arm and walking toward the door. He needed to throw them away outside or else the whole house would smell like blood by the end of the night. He'd no sooner dropped them into the trash can when Ray was suddenly behind him, close enough to pin him to the wall if he wanted to.

"Listen to me leech, and listen good because I ain't sayin' this again." He growled, his face only a few inches from Aidan's. "I never made it any secret that I didn't like you and your kind; buncha blood suckin' parasites if you ask me." He spat bitterly as if the very words tasted like vinegar. "But I need to tell you somethin' that I couldn't say earlier."

He looked back at the door like he was expecting someone to drop in on their conversation. "I wanted to thank you for takin' care of the pup. He hates me, and for good reason, so when I found him this mornin' I knew I had to take him here."

"That's-"

"Shut up, there's something else." Ray's voice dropped so low Aidan nearly had to strain to hear him. "That hunter, the one who shot Josh? He was after me."

Aidan felt the muscles in his jaw tighten. "He was tracking you? He was trying to shoot you and Josh got the bullet instead, that's what you're telling me?"

Ray had the decency to look ashamed.

"You worthless mutt!" Aidan snarled, grabbing a fist-full of Ray's shirt and twisting it so hard it nearly ripped. "You knew he was after you and now my best friend is laying there, dying for all we know, because he caught the bullet meant for you!"

"You think I wanted any of this to happen?" Ray snarled back, ripping himself out of Aidan's grasp. "You think I wanted him to get shot? Well, news flash boyo, I never planned on coming back here in the first place!" He took a step backward, dark eyes narrowed and blazing. "I ended up back in Boston by mistake, I never planned to come back for him or you or anyone! Yes, I knew a hunter was after me and yes, I knew he was going to make a shot, but if I had known Josh was wandering around in the woods last night I never would have stopped here!"

Despite the anger Aidan was feeling, he could see Ray was telling the truth. The older wolf looked shaken with guilt underneath the rage and he knew he felt as bad about it as he looked.

"I made a mistake with him." Ray continued, jerking his thumb back in the direction of the apartment. "In more ways than one. The first mistake was not killing him the first time." Upon seeing Aidan's enraged look, he continued. "This life is a curse, its Hell on earth if you can't handle it. The night I attacked him, I'd only been a werewolf for a few months and I couldn't control any of it. I killed his friend and thought I killed him out in those woods but I didn't...two years later he shows up, alive and well and just as fucked up as me." Ray looked even more ashamed. "I tried to teach him, make up for the shit I'd put him through..." He shook his head, looking down. "He didn't deserve any of this, he shouldn't have had this fucked up life."

"That's why I brought him back here. Because no matter how much I hate you and your kind, no matter how much I want to tear you apart every time I see you, I know that he stands a better chance here with you than anywhere else." Ray shrugged helplessly. "He has a chance for another life after I took the first one away."

Aidan stayed silent for a few minutes before he trusted himself to speak. "Why should I believe anything you just said? All this guilt, all the angst and the poor-pitiful-me attitude...why should I believe you're sorry at all?"

Ray glared but didn't lash out at him like he thought. "Because I brought him back. Because I could have left him out in the woods to die again like I did the first time but I didn't. I brought him back because believe it or not, I do give a shit about what happens to the pup. He may hate me for the rest of his life, I kinda hope he does, but he's still my responsibility. He took a bullet meant for me and I'll be damned if I let him die on my account." The ferocity was back in his eyes and his voice and Aidan could tell he meant every word.

Ray took a slow step backward toward the street, his eyes never leaving Aidan's. "What I wanted to say was thanks and take good care of him. You'll never see me again if I can help it." He shrugged again and took another step back. "And if you do, I can't guarentee it will be under these kinds of friendly circumstances."

Aidan nearly laughed at the word "friendly" but chose not to. As much as he appreciated him bringing Josh back, he wanted Ray gone and out of their lives one again. He was dangerous and unpredictable (much like some of the vampires he knew) and Aidan didn't want him within one city block of Josh if he could help it.

"Take care of him, leech." Ray said one last time before he disappeared around the corner of the building and walked away.

Aidan didn't try to stop him. He stood with his back pressed against the wall for a long time, staring at the trashcans and clearing his mind from the events of the night. He could still smell the blood from the bandages in the trashcan next to him but the air was clean and cold and it helped him think a bit more clearly. He knew they were still in for a rough night and he needed to be focused on Josh if he wanted to help him. He closed his eyes, taking a deep, though rather unneeded breath, and stayed still for a minute.

The walls were trembling ever so slightly but he wasn't really surprised by that; after all, he knew Sally was having a tough time containing her emotions with Josh in the shape he was in. The trembling became a bit more pronounced and he opened his eyes, noticing the lights flickering on and off in the kitchen window above his head. He frowned. He had only just stepped away from the wall when Sally's voice cut through the silence.

"AIDAN!"

He was running before he realized it, jerking open the front door and stumbling into the living room. Josh was convulsing on the couch, his hands curled into tight fists and his muscles tight and rigid. The IV had ripped itself out of his arm, a line of blood streaking across the couch and pooling on the floor beneath the needle. His eyes were rolled back, jaw clenched shut, and his entire body twitched and jerked. Josh was having a seizure.

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**Don't worry, I'm not going to kill Josh! I'll just torture him relentlessly while I can ^.-**


	7. Cool Down

**So sorry for the evil cliffhanger! This chapter has a very tiny one but its nothing like the others I promise! :D Hope you guys like it!**

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"Oh my God, Aidan, what do we do?" Sally cried, tears streaming down her face as she stared at Josh's convulsing form in horror. The house was shaking around them, the walls vibrating so hard that the few pictures they had hanging up were knocked to the floor. The sink in the kitchen had started to sputter again and a few random plates and glasses found a nasty fate as they shattered on the counter tops.

It took Aidan a second the register that she'd spoken. He shook his head numbly, staring at Josh. "Nothing."

Sally's eyes widened even more. "Nothing?" She cried incredulously. "What do you mean nothing?" She was nearly shouting over the noise in the room, her voice wild and panicked.

Aidan turned to her then, knowing that if he didn't calm her down the entire house would be leveled in a matter of minutes. "Sally, listen to me. I know this looks bad but if we try to grab him or hold him down, he could hurt himself even more." She looked unconvinced, dark eyes still wide and terrified, so he continued. "I see this all the time, it looks bad but its really not."

The truth was, he was scared too. True, working at the hospital he'd seen his fair share of seizures, some of them incredibly violent, but it was different when it was Josh. Everything was different now that Josh was involved. Aidan's calm, practical manner of dealing with such crises was beginning to crumble as large cracks started to develop in his composure. He needed to keep his head, both for Sally and for Josh, but seeing his best friend like this terrified him.

There was a muffled thump as Josh fell off the couch and ended up in a tangled pile on the floor. Aidan stepped forward quickly, jerking the coffee table away from the couch just as Josh's arm crashed into the floor where it had been standing not a second before. The force would have been enough to break his wrist. The convulsions had lessened a bit but hadn't stopped completely. Aidan crouched next to him, staying close in case he needed to move anything else.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was really only a few minutes, the seizure stopped and Josh lay limp and boneless like a ragdoll. Aidan was next to him a split second later, checking his pulse and breathing, frowning at the intense heat rolling off the younger man's skin. His fever had spiked, he was almost certain that's what had caused the seizure, but he needed to get it lowered and fast.

"Sally," He said, turning to her while keeping one hand on Josh. "I need you to go upstairs and fill the tub up with cold water, okay? As cold as you can make it. We need to bring his fever down."

The spirit nodded shakily and disappeared. A few seconds later, Aidan heard the faucet turn on upstairs. Giving her something to do was the best thing he could have done because now that she was occupied and was doing something to help Josh, the house had stopped shaking.

Aidan turned his attention back to Josh, cupping the younger man's face in both hands. He was sweating and pale, a bright flush of scarlet staining his cheekbones. His breathing was ragged and hitched, probably an after effect of the seizure but Aidan wasn't sure. He managed to open Josh's mouth just enough to see that he hadn't broken any teeth or bitten his tongue. At least there was that.

Making sure there was nothing close to him in case another seizure struck, Aidan jumped up quickly, leaving Josh in the living room, and ran into the kitchen. He opened the freezer and emptied the ice tray into a plastic bucket, filling it to the top with ice cubes. He tucked it under one arm and walked back into the living room, kneeling down next to Josh again. He scooped the younger man into his arms, cradling him carefully against his chest, and made his way up the stairs.

Sally was in the bathroom, wringing her hands and staring at the half filled tub. She nearly jumped when Aidan came inside, Josh hanging limply in his arms. He dumped the ice into the tub, the cubes bobbing along through the water like little buoys. He set Josh down against the wall and turned off the faucets, turning toward Sally once again. "He's going to be fine, Sally." He said in what he hoped was his most convincing voice.

If Sally was about to say something she stopped and stuttered when Aidan suddenly stripped himself of his scrubs, leaving him in just his boxers. He grabbed Josh again and stepped into the tub, sinking down into the water and resting the younger man against his chest. The tub was long and deep and he knew that if he'd set Josh in here by himself, he would more than likely slip under the water and drown and that was a bit counterproductive to what they were trying to do.

The cold water barely effected him, he was too concerned about the fever that was wracking the younger man's body. Aidan guessed it was close to 106 which was more than enough to kill a normal human. He worried about the effects it might have on Josh.

The younger man's breathing was still hitched and shallow, almost like he was having trouble taking a deep breath. Aidan wrapped an arm across his chest, fingers splayed against his ribcage. He could feel the shuddering heartbeat beneath his palm, Josh's chest spasming a bit as he struggled to breath. "Breathe Josh..." He encouraged softly next to the unconcious young man's ear. "Breathe..."

Sally was in the tub with them then, her body sinking down into the water at their feet. The water barely rumpled her clothes and seemed to pass right through her. In reality, it probably did. She was watching him, her dark eyes drifting between Aidan's face and Josh's. It looked like she wanted to say something but no words came.

Josh's head had fallen to the side, resting limply against Aidan's shoulder. His breathing was shallow and raspy, his chest barely rising with each breath. He went still suddenly, the wheezing stopping for a second, and Aidan's eyes widened. "Breathe Josh..." He repeated, looking down at the younger man in his arms. Josh continued to lay limp and unresponsive. "Dammit, breathe!" When he still got no response, he made a fist and ground his knuckles into the younger man's sternum, pressing down hard.

Josh tensed slightly against him, taking a deep shuddering gasp which quickly turned into a coughing fit. He coughed raggedly, the movements harsh and wracking, his entire body shaking with the force of each one. All Aidan could do was hold him, rubbing one hand across his chest and carding his fingers through his hair with the other. Sally watched quietly, tears welling in her eyes that didn't quite fall. Aidan was silently impressed the house hadn't started to shake again.

When the fit finally ended, Josh was gasping and exhausted against Aidan's shoulder but he seemed to be breathing a bit easier. Aidan was almost relieved until he saw the stream of crimson oozing from Josh's nose and dripping into the water. He shouldn't have been surprised by the nosebleed, it happened sometimes after a person experienced a seizure, but it still startled him. "Jesus Josh..." He whispered, reaching up and carefully wiping the blood away with the back of his hand. It felt slippery and oily when it mixed with the water and Aidan felt his fangs poking the insides of his lip irritably. Blood continued to drip from the younger man's nose, each drop forming bright red, snaking tendrils as it came in contact with the rest of the water.

Sally was shaking her head as she watched, her knees drawn up to her chest in the water. "Oh my God Aidan...what are we going to do?" Her voice sounded broken and lost like a scared child.

For the first time, Aidan felt like he couldn't lie to her again. He shook his head, the heat from Josh's body scalding his skin. He was terrified and it was getting harder and harder to pretend like he had everything under control. "I don't know..." He said finally, his voice sounding strange and distant in his ears. "I don't know..."

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**Okay, once again I'm not going to kill Josh! I love him to much to do that! More to come soon! :D**


	8. Stay

**I blame Harry Potter 7.2 and the Dead Island theme song for this chapter. It makes me cry! ;_; Seriously, I listened to it while writing this chapter and nearly lost it O.o**

**Okay, so there's some epic bromance at the end of this chapter; it can be read as friendship or slash, however you feel like reading it! I tried to write it ambiguously enough to where it could be read either way :D More to come soon!**

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Aidan wasn't sure how long they sat in the tub with Josh, all he knew was that the cold water seemed to be doing very little to combat the raging fever that still gripped his friend. He'd hoped to see some improvement by now but was disappointed to find the water actually felt a bit warmer from them being in it (well, _Josh_ being in it more than anything; Sally and Aidan didn't really register anything on the body heat scale). Leave it to Josh to make a conudrum out of making cold water warmer by sitting in it.

The younger man was still unconscious but his breathing seemed to be a bit more even than it had been before. It was still shakey and a bit too shallow but nothing like the ragged gasps he was struggling for earlier. Dark, bruise-like shadows had formed under his eyes, enhanced by the paleness of his skin. His head was still tucked beneath Aidan's chin, his cheek resting against the vampire's shoulder. Aidan could see the pulse beating in his throat, quick and hard.

Sally was sitting quietly at the opposite end of the tub, watching them both carefully. Aidan hadn't said anything for a long time and the evidence of the night's strain was beginning to show on his face. He'd been reassuring her all night and she wanted to return the favor but she wasn't sure what she could say to make him feel better. Aidan knew a lot more about Josh's condition than she did, being a nurse and all, so trying to say something along the lines of "I'm sure he'll be fine now" to comfort him seemed like a waste of words.

"Do you think we should try to move him?" She asked finally, her voice sounding loud and resounding in the small space of the bathroom.

Aidan said nothing for a second before he looked up at her. He suddenly looked fifty years older, not in the face but in the eyes. "His fever is still too high..." He said with a weary sigh before shifting the younger man into his arms. "But it can't be good for him to keep sitting in here." He stood slowly, cradling Josh in his arms protectively, and stepped out of the tub.

Sally turned away with a faint blush. Between Josh being naked and Aidan being almost naked and both of them wet, she'd seen more of her roommates in one night than she had in the months they'd been living here. She waited for him to walked out of the bathroom and disappear into the hall before she got out. The tub began to drain behind her as she walked down the hall and into Josh's room.

Aidan had laid Josh down on the bed and found a pair of dry pants to put him in. She wasn't sure what it was but seeing him sprawled in the middle of the bed, hair falling over his forehead and obscuring his face in shadow, but it made Sally think of Josh as an awakward, lanky teenager. He seemed so much younger, so fragile in this state that it almost made her forget about his wolf side. He looked like a kid and it hurt to think how close they were to losing him.

Sally sank down on the bed next to Josh, the mattress and the sheets staying perfect around her. She reached out, very carefully, and touched Josh's face with her fingertips. Maybe it was because she was concentrating or maybe because his injuries were so severe but her fingers didn't faze through him like they did everything else. The thought made her stomach clench.

She hadn't realized Aidan had stepped out of the room until he returned a few minutes later in a new pair of pants carrying a bowl of water and some wash cloths. He placed the bowl on the table next to the bed and sat down on the other side of Josh. He reached out, pressing one hand against the younger man's face for a second before shaking his head. "His fever hasn't dropped at all." He said, a mixture of frustration and something very close to despair hovering in his voice. He took one of the wash clothes and dipped it into the bowl, wringing it out carefully before laying it across Josh's forehead. The younger man twitched ever so slightly, a soft moan in the back of his throat before he went still again.

A wave of exhaustion he hadn't felt in a long time and he found himself laying down next to the younger man. He gathered him in his arm, feeling the minute tremors that still swept through Josh's body as the fever raged on. He hoped maybe he could drawn some of the heat into himself, anything to give Josh's injured body the break it needed. He was running out of options, out of ideas, and out of hope.

Josh was still shaking, a thin sheet of sweat breaking out over his chest and arms. The bandage on his shoulder was damp and pink tinged from the blood that had more than likely soaked through it. Aidan tightened his arms around him, holding him close and burying his face in the side of the younger man's neck. He could smell the metal in his blood, the poison that was coursing through Josh's veins with each heartbeat. It made him sick to his stomach.

Josh had been the one constant in his life for the past two years, the one person he could always rely on, the one he could trust with anything. Josh reminded him what it was like to have a family and it was something he hadn't realized he craved so much until he met him. He was like the younger brother Aidan never had and seeing him hurt like this was almost more than he could stand. He'd already lost Bernie and Rebecca...he couldn't lose Josh too, he wouldn't be able to take it.

"Please don't go..." He whispered, his words almost inaudible as he spoke them. "Please don't leave me like this..." He hated it, hated feeling this weak and desperate but he couldn't help it. He needed Josh more than he ever thought and now there was no gaurentee he would even make it through the night and it was killing him. "Please Josh...stay with me..." He reached up with one hand, palm cupping the younger man's too-hot face and brushing his thumb over the thin cheekbones. Tears burned his eyes and he tried to blink them away before they escaped. "God...please don't die..."

Sally said nothing as she watched the tender exchange. Tears were stinging in her eyes again, threatening to fall, but they never did. Josh held them all together more than he could ever know and if he knew what it was doing to Aidan right now he'd never forgive himself. She had never seen him like this but she knew better than to bring it up. Josh and Aidan were close, they had a history she'd only barely scratched the surface of, and she knew that if he died, Aidan would disappear into the dark shadows of his mind, never to return.

She wanted to say something but no words came. Instead, she laid down on the other side of Josh, wrapping her arms around his trembling shoulders and resting her hands on Aidan's back. Her fingers disappeared into the fabric of his clothes for a breif moment before she focused enough to make her touch a bit more solid. She could still hear Aidan whispering to Josh, his words hard to make out. She didn't need to hear them to know what he was saying though, she was praying the same way in her mind. They laid like that for a long time, both with their arms wrapped around Josh as if it were the only thing keeping the younger man with them. They just hoped it was enough.

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**Okay, this chapter was a bit more Aidan centered so the next one will focus a bit more on Sally ^.- Hope you guys like it! :D**


	9. Crash and Burn

**Ugh, sorry for the long update! I'm in the middle of moving and haven't really had time to give this chapter the focus it deserves :/ Meh, I was feeling sentimental so I made it a song chapter lol. I'm not too happy with it but hopefully you guys will like it! :D**

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Josh's fever started to break around 3 am, a heavy sweat covering his body and dampening the sheets beneath him. He shivered a few times and shifted restlessly, a muted groan hanging in the back of his throat.

"Shh...its okay Josh..." Aidan muttered next to him, reaching out and touching his cheek gently. He was relieved to feel some of the heat receding, the sharp sting of the fever beginning to break from the inside. He grabbed one of the wash cloths from the bowl, wringing it out and passing it over the younger man's face gently to remove some of the sweat clinging to his skin.

Josh moaned a bit, his eyes flickering behind closed lids. He shifted again, long legs and arms tangling in the sheets. Aidan released his hold on him and Sally did the same, both watching him expectantly. There was a noise somewhere between a gasp and a sigh and Josh's eyes opened just a bit.

Aidan broke into a grin, smiling so wide it hurt. "Hey buddy...how do you feel?"

It took a second for Josh to realize someone had spoken. He blinked a few times, staring blankly at the cieling. "Hot..." He finally answered, a wince passing over his face.

In spite of themselves, Sally and Aidan laughed, exchanging a knowing look between the two of them. It was such a Josh-like thing to say after he was coming out a fever that nearly killed him that they couldn't help but laugh in relief. "Yeah, well you've fighting a fever for the better part of the night, man." Aidan informed him, making another pass with the wash cloth. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders; he'd been worried about the effect the fever might've had on Josh but he seemed well enough.

The younger man blinked again, slow and deliberate. "What-" His voice broke, scratchy and hoarse from disuse, and he cleared his throat weakly before trying to speak again. "What happened?"

Aidan was debating on telling him about the Hunter and the bullet, about how Ray had found him and brought him back. He debated on telling him how he'd basically been poisoned and he and Sally spent most of the night wondering if he was even going to make it to morning. The professional nursing side of him was urging him to tell the truth but the best friend side was a bit more hesitant. Luckily, Sally chose this time to speak up. "You got hurt during your change last night." She said softly, feather-light fingertips brushing over his hair. "But you're alright now...we're taking care of you."

Aidan gave her a thankful look before switching his attention back down to Josh. The younger man was still shivering but it was because of the fever breaking, not the violent tremors he'd been experiencing earlier in the evening. The bed beneath them felt damp from sweat but Aidan didn't care, he was just happy Josh was conscious again.

Carefully, he peeled the bandage away from the wound in Josh's shoulder and inspected it. The stitches were still raw and angry but it looked better than it had. He needed to change it though to make sure another infection wouldn't set in; that was the last thing they needed to happen. He looked at Sally, a silent understanding passing between them. She nodded and inched a bit closer to Josh, taking Aidan's place in holding him steady as the vampire got off the bed and left the room to get the bandages he'd left downstairs.

Sally inched closer, wrapping one arm across Josh's chest and carefully avoiding his injured shoulder. The younger man looked like he was beginning to drift off again, his eyes opening and closing a bit more slowly, his breathing evening out. Sally smiled, tucking her chin against his shoulder and holding him close.

She began humming softly, an old song she'd heard years ago, not even realizing it until Josh muttered something sleepily next to her. "You have a nice voice." He said quietly, his voice heavy and laden with sleep.

She smiled warmly, brushing her fingers over his forehead. "I took a few choir lessons back in high school." She muttered, her fingers drifting through his hair slowly and gently, the pattern reassuring and comforting. Josh made a soft of "hmm" noise in the back of his throat and Sally giggled. She continued to hum, the melody eventually making its way into words.

_When you feel all alone  
And the world has turned its back on you,  
Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart.  
I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you  
It's hard to find relief and people can be so cold._

Josh relaxed into the bed; whether he was alseep or just listening Sally couldn't be sure. She kept singing, her voice low and soft, nearly a whisper. She concentrated on the lyrics, only half-heartedly listening as she sang them.

_When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore  
Let me be the one you call  
If you jump I'll break your fall  
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night.  
If you need to fall apart,  
I can mend a broken heart.  
If you need to crash then crash and burn  
You're not alone._

There were so many times after her death where she'd felt like the world could fall completely apart and she'd still be there, watching it all happen. Immortality looks nice on paper but when you are stuck, when you really can't die, its hollow comfort. Before she'd met Aidan and Josh, the days seemed endless, the nights even longer, and it was everything she could do not to lose herself in despair. It was one thing to be alone, it was another thing to be alone and have no one know how truly terrible it felt. Aidan and Josh knew though, they knew only too well what it felt like.

_When you feel all alone  
And a loyal friend is hard to find,  
You're caught in a one way street  
With the monsters in your head.  
When hopes and dreams are far away and  
You feel like you can't face the day._

She used to wonder what things would be like if they hadn't moved in, if some other family had taken up residence instead. She wondered if they'd stay when she started doing things to get attention or if they would try to make contact. She wondered if they did make contact if they would try to excercise her like Danny did. It was funny in a way, she'd never felt as safe and at home as she did now that she was dead. She knew it wasn't the same for the others: Aidan with his dark past and limitless future and Josh with his self-loathing and hatred for what he was. She wanted more than anything to make them feel the way she did, welcome and loved in this house. She wanted them to feel like they were home.

_Let me be the one you call  
If you jump I'll break your fall  
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night.  
If you need to fall apart  
I can mend a broken heart.  
If you need to crash then crash and burn  
You're not alone._

Aidan was different, she knew that well enough to be comfortable with it. He had seen things, done things she'd never even imagined and he was balanced enough to feel settled here. He'd told her one day after they first moved in that he was looking for something permanent after living temporarily for so long. She had no trouble believing that after some of the stories he'd told her.

Josh was another story entirely though. He always looked like he was waiting for the bottom to drop out more than it already had. His eyes were haunted and deep and Sally wondered if he would ever truly feel safe and comfortable anywhere. He'd had to give up so much when he became a werewolf and there was always a lingering presence of regret in everything he did.

_'Cause there has always been heartache and pain  
And when it's over you'll breathe again  
You'll breath again._

He was getting better though, a little bit at a time. Nora helped more than he would probably ever let her know but Sally liked to think that she and Aidan helped as well. Aidan took over the big brother role and offered words of encouragement anytime the dark thoughts couldn't be avoided and Sally made sure they never came home to an empty house. She bickered and bantered with Josh to help him get his mind of things and to make him feel like he belonged here with them. She _needed_ to make him feel like he belonged. She was terrified that one day he would leave for work and decide it was all too much and disappear.

_When you feel all alone  
And the world has turned its back on you  
Give me a moment please  
To tame your wild wild heart._

She watched him carefully, studying his relaxed features and memorizing the angles of his face. He was asleep now, his breathing even and slow, and the shivering had almost stopped completely. She'd been an only child growing up and this protective instinct she felt toward Josh made her wonder if this was what it felt like to have a sibling. Josh was the most human of the three of them, even though he couldn't see it, and Sally used to rely on him to keep her tied to the world of the living. Now all she could see was Josh and how he kept them all together as a family.

Aidan came back in, hesitating by the door for a moment. He could here Sally singing, her fingers playing idly with the tips of Josh's hair. The younger man was sound asleep and looked more relaxed than he'd seen him in weeks. He smiled to himself, keeping the image in his mind as he walked over to the bed.

"Who knew you were good at lullabies?" He teased gently as he sat down on the other side of Josh and began re-wrapping the wound.

Sally shot him an indignant look but there was no heat behind her gaze. "My mom used to sing to me when I was sick and it always used to make me feel better." She shrugged a bit and moved her hand through Josh's hair again. "I thought it might help."

Aidan smiled at her. "I think it did more than help." He said honestly, taping the bandage into place. He pressed his hand to Josh's forehead for a second, relieved to feel most of the fever breaking away.

Sally smiled in return and laid back down on the bed, pillowing her head on her arm. This was her family now, this little rag-tag group of people she'd come to know and love. A vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost...it sounded like a set-up for a bad sitcom but she couldn't think of anything more perfect. She loved them and they loved her and they'd worked hard to make this house a home. She couldn't think of anything better.

_Let me be the one you call  
If you jump I'll break your fall  
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night.  
If you need to fall apart  
I can mend a broken heart.  
If you need to crash then crash and burn  
You're not alone._

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**I really like this song, it always makes me feel better when I have a bad day (or in Josh's case a bad life O.o) Hope you guys liked it! :D**


	10. Back To Normal

**Hello all! Wow, I'm so sorry about the long update O.o My life got literally INVADED by the awesomeness known as Suits and I've been writing like a maniac for that fandom =/ Anyway, hope you all enjoy the last chapter! :D**

**A/N: Wow...I am so sorry O.o I accidently uploaded a chapter for a Suits story instead of the one for this story! Sorry for the confusion guys! XD**

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It took another day for Josh to regain consciousness completely and two more after that before he could get out of bed on his own. He had trouble balancing and his legs shook when he tried to walk but eventually he was able to make it out of bed and down the hall on his own even with Aidan and Sally hovering over him constantly.

The wound was beginning to heal, slowly but surely. The long silver tendrils that had extended away from the bullet wound had faded and Josh's werewolf healing abilities had started to return once the silver had worked itself through his system. The wound in his leg was almost completely healed, a long, thin gash still streaking across his thigh fromwhere the bullet had grazed him. It still took a while for his shoulder to heal though, the wound stitching itself closed very slowly. It was irritating; Josh hadn't realized how spoiled he's gotten on the super fast healing thing.

Aidan and was at his side constantly, always within arm's reach in case Josh's legs gave out and he fell (which had happened once before already). Sally stayed close as well but she kept a little more distance than Aidan did. She could sense that all this hovering was beginning to wear on Josh's nerves so she allowed him a bit more space than their fangy roommate.

Aidan had called the hospital and told them that Josh wouldn't be back to work for at least the rest of the week. He made up some story about him catching the flu and left it at that. He'd debated on calling Nora but figured he'd leave that to Josh once the younger man had heled a bit more.

Josh didn't remember much about the night he got shot, just that he'd changed back in the middle of the forest and couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. Aidan chose not to tell him about Ray; he wasn't sure how the younger man would react to finding out that the man who created him had saved his life. Josh was more compassionate than he let on and Aidan worried how he would handle the news. Sally agreed, keeping her mouth shut when Josh asked how he'd gotten back to the house in the first place. Josh would find out eventually but for now they would leave that part out.

Try as he might, Aidan couldn't take off any more work that week. The hospital was low on staff and he's already skipped two shifts this week to tend to Josh. No matter what excuse he came up with, their answer was always the same: either come into work or be fired. It was a losing battle.

Aidan paused by the door, looking back at Sally and Josh sprawled on the couch. The younger man was still pale and tired but he had regained a bit of color since he'd woken up. He'd managed to eat something and hadn't had any adverse reactions to it so it was a plus on his side.

"Are you sure you'll be okay while I'm gone?" Aidan asked for the third time, hesitating by the door.

Josh nodded slowly. "Aidan, I'm fine...I'm not going to go run a marathon while you're at work..." He looked like he could barely run down the front steps but Aidan didn't say anything.

"Okay, well if you need me-"

"I have your cell and the hospital's number." Josh smiled tiredly and slumped a bit against the couch. "Don't worry."

"I'll take good care of him." Sally chimed in with a wink and Aidan felt himself relax a bit.

"Okay, well...I guess I'll be back later." He paused for a second longer before finally turning to the door and waking outside.

Josh sighed, his eyes drooping a bit. "Geez...I don't think my own mom ever hovered over me that much..."

Sally smiled softly. "Well, you might as well get used to it. I'm never going to get to be a mom and Aidan practically gets off on it so I think you're kinda stuck with it for the next few weeks."

Josh smiled tired and pulled his legs up on to the couch slowly, wincing a bit when the movement caused his mostly-healed injured leg to cramp slightly.

"You okay?"

"Peachy." He smiled again, making himself a bit more comfortable. "What's on today?"

"Oh, nothing special..." Sally said with a devilsh smirk, looking at the TV. A new episode of Gossip Girl had just started and Josh groaned weakly.

"Ugh...Sally...!"

"What? Its the only thing worth watching on." She shrugged and snuggled a bit more into the couch. "Besides, you're too sick to change the channel which means I get to pick."

"There's a special place in Hell reserved for you." Josh muttered but there was no heat in his voice. He turned his head to the side and settled himself to watching the episode.

Sally giggled. "I love you too, Josh." All was right in the world once again.

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**Thank you all so much for reading! I really hope you guys liked it! :D**


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